House and Senate pass bills to make daylight saving time permanent

The state Senate passed SB 5139, bill that would make Daylight Saving Time year round. The bill also includes a referendum to allow the voters to make the final decision. The House passed a similar bill without the referendum.

In order for a state to switch to permanent Daylight Saving Time, the U.S. Congress must approve. States can switch to permanent Standard Time without approval of Congress.

Now that the measures have passed each chamber, the next step is to reconcile the differences. This session of the state legislature ends on April 28, 2019.

The SB 5139 Digest:

Declares an intent to observe daylight saving time yearround, if authorized by the United States congress, and review the potential impact the time zone has on communities along the border between this state and other states to determine whether the state should seek authorization through the United States department of transportation to change the state to mountain standard time year-round if year-round daylight saving time is not authorized by congress. Requires the department of commerce to review impacts the state time zone and daylight saving time have on commerce in the state.